


Carry on the wayward son, the way that lovers do

by chaoticdean



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Post-Canon, Castiel and Dean Winchester in Love, Established Castiel/Dean Winchester, Established Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester, F/M, Fluff, LISTEN I'M SORRY BUT THIS IS WHAT THEY ALL DESERVED, M/M, Marriage, No beta we die like women on spn, Post-Canon Fix-It, Post-Episode: s15e18 Despair, Post-Episode: s15e19 Inherit the Earth, TheirLoveWasReal, in this house we're finale denialists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 05:20:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29396853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticdean/pseuds/chaoticdean
Summary: “You have to pretend you get an endgame. You have to carry on like you will; otherwise, you can't carry on at all.”― Rainbow Rowell, Carry On#TheirLoveWasReal fanwork challenge, day 0: Carry On (canon verse works only, compliant or divergent)Titled after lyrics from "Falling From Cloud 9", by Lift to Experience.
Relationships: Castiel/Dean Winchester, Dean Winchester & Sam Winchester, Eileen Leahy/Sam Winchester
Comments: 23
Kudos: 110
Collections: Their Love Was Real: a Destiel & Saileen Fanworks Challenge





	Carry on the wayward son, the way that lovers do

**Author's Note:**

> This is your friendly reminder that this work is unbeta'd, and that English isn't my mother-tongue. Be kind :)

* * *

It starts off as an open invitation, casually thrown via text on a random weekday.

_ >> Do you and Cas want to come over for dinner tonight? _

Then it becomes a tradition. Once a week, usually on Friday, Dean gets out of work early, picks Castiel up from his new job at the library (looking as dashing as ever in his new clothes that they picked together; clothes that fit him, that typically tend to get Dean’s heartbeat to accelerate. And he usually has to remember that _no, they don’t have time to pull over for a quickie if they expect to make it out of town before it gets too crowded, keep it in your pants Winchester_ ). Once they’re both seated in the Impala, Dean behind the wheel and Cas sitting shotgun beside him telling him about his day, they head together to the little house Sam and Eileen settled down in, half an hour away from Lawrence, after… Well, after everything.

After getting rid of Chuck. After they got Castiel back from the Empty, Dean deeming his trip to the other realm his last Hail Mary before hanging up the hunting boots. After Sam decided that the bunker was nice and all, but he needed a home to build something different with Eileen.

Letting him go hadn’t been easy. Dean’s entire life had been about protecting Sam, and even knowing that Chuck isn’t controlling their life anymore, some part of him is always going to be on the lookout for his brother. Not that he doesn’t trust Eileen, but this runs deeper than this. It’s something that’s been embedded in his soul for decades, and he’s slowly learning that it’s okay to let go. Sammy’s safe. They both are.

But life for Dean is different now, too.

Where they used to be a gun under his pillow and the cold reminder of loneliness inside his bed, there’s now the shape of a former angel of the lord and warmth wrapped around them both as they slowly wake up curled around each other in the early hours of the day. There’s the Lord of the Rings trilogy on his nightstand- because he’s re-reading those with the same joy he had read them with when he was still a kid -instead of books about the end of the world, werewolves, or the reproduction patterns of ghouls. There are movie nights in the Deancave; date-nights where Dean exclusively uses things from Cas’ garden to cook their meals; nights when Jack comes over and plays board-games that they both desperately try to win (and fail to do so because at the end of the day, their kid is still one of the most powerful celestial beings in the universe — and that’s fine, that’s _fine_ ). 

Nights at Jody’s to catch up with the Wayward Gang over dinner, ignoring the roll of Claire’s eyes when Cas takes hold of Dean’s hand and weaves their fingers tightly together. Nights that they spend in bed, learning the way each other’s muscles work under the pads of their fingers, the press of lips, the trail of tongues; losing themselves in their mutual discovery of each other’s bodies, trailing kisses and gentle words pressed into burning skin; the murmur of an “I love you” barely breathed against the shell of an ear, the thrill of a soft-spoken “you’re mine, only _mine_ ” into the furnace of their embrace; chasing the thrill of their release. Together, always, until it reaches the stars and tears through their very own cosmos.

The blood on Dean’s clothes has gradually been replaced by oil stains, and the only wounds he gets lately usually originate from a nasty carburetor or a poorly fixed piece of metal. The only tears that stain his cheeks nowadays are either the symptom of too much laughing, the product of an anxiety attack, or the result of an argument with Cas. These always end up being kissed away, because while Dean and Cas’ relationship might be one complicated, messy story, they know better than to jeopardize it by forgetting to apologize anymore (and, well… Dean would argue that the pillow talk and makeup sex is the best part of apologizing anyway).

Life with Cas is thrilling. Different. Happy. So damn happy that sometimes Dean has to pinch himself to realize that _yeah, he’s allowed to have that now_.

He’s currently pinching himself as he sits on the deck outside Sam’s house, watching the love of his life and the love of Sammy’s life playing with the small human being that came along a little more than a year ago and stole all of their hearts right away. Delilah started walking a few days back, and both Eileen and Cas are currently encouraging her to go from one of them to the other. The little one grins at her uncle as she slowly walks toward him, the green of her eyes twinkling with something mischievous. When she gets to Cas, the once upon an angel lifts her up into the air and she bursts into laughter, automatically sending a thrill of joy through every single one of Dean’s nerves as he watches them twirl together.

“You okay?” Sam asks after a while, Dean’s gaze glued to his niece who’s now walking prudently to her mom, repeating the motion.

“Yeah,” Dean answers softly, bringing the glass of whisky in his hand to his lips, enjoying the way the alcohol warms him up, slowly making its way down his throat and to his stomach. “Yeah, I really am.”

Sam smiles knowingly, his gaze going from Delilah, Eileen and Cas having fun in the garden to his brother sitting on the deck next to him. It’s the end of August, soon enough the night will grow colder, the city will turn calmer, and they’ll have to retreat back to the living room, enjoying one last drink before Cas and Dean have to head back home. 

But for now, there’s something special about being able to sit here together without the constant looming of another end of the world, only watching as the love of both their lives keep entertaining Sam’s daughter. Knowing there’s nothing coming to get them anymore.

“You ever think about… I don’t know, settling down?” Sam says quietly, softly, like he doesn’t really know if he’s allowed to ask. When Dean turns his gaze to look at him and arches an eyebrow quizzically, Sam continues. “Buying a house. Making an honest man out of Cas,” he laughs.

At that, Dean can’t help but snicker, his ears growing pink at the discreet mention of marriage. It’s not like he can exactly tell Sam that they’ve planned on getting married just last night in bed, basking in their post-sex afterglow, Cas halfway into sleep on top of him.

“What did the bunker ever do to you?” he exclaims instead, purposely steering the conversation away.

“I’m just saying, maybe you ought to live somewhere you can actually get woken up by sunlight instead of living underground in a 90-year-old bunker, that’s all.”

“You clearly haven’t been faced with Cas’ horrendous morning mood enough to even suggest getting up at sunrise,” Dean scoffs, his eyes connecting with Cas’ from across the garden as Sam laughs beside him.

The former angel smiles at him, Delilah waving at her uncle from where she sits on his shoulder, and Dean suddenly feel a rush of emotions coursing through his veins.

“You know how proud I am of you, right?” he says, his eyes never wavering from Castiel’s. “After all we’ve been through, all we’ve overcome. It would have been so easy to have just… I don’t know. Fuck it up. I know I would’ve, if we hadn’t gotten Cas back.”

He can sense his brother’s gaze on the side of his face as he watches Delilah carefully stepping into the swing, Cas gearing up to push her. He doesn’t know why his emotions are all over the place tonight of all nights. 

Maybe it’s the gravity of the moment. Maybe it’s watching Castiel, the angel turned man, the celestial being turned soon-to-be husband, the soldier of Heaven turned enamored Uncle, laughing his ass off while playing with Sam’s kid. Maybe it’s being able to watch this knowing that tomorrow will bring even better things. Maybe it’s the knowledge that no matter what they’ve faced, what they’ve gone through, what they’ve managed to overcome, their story ends here. With Eileen and Cas, with Delilah and the promise of even better days to come.

“I’m glad we made it,” Sam murmurs after a while, watching as Eileen picks up Delilah and both of them start making their way to them, Cas in their trail. “I’m glad we carried on, if this is the outcome we get.”

“Yeah,” Dean answers, beaming at Cas as he climbs the three stairs leading to the deck. “Me too.”

Getting Delilah to agree to go to bed is a process. She keeps navigating from Dean’s lap to Sam’s, gravitating toward Cas, refusing to let go until both Sam and Eileen manage to coax her inside with the promise of two bedtime stories. The silence that follows is well-received and Dean smiles as Cas is in his space suddenly, both arms wrapping around him, hands going down his chest as he plasters himself against Dean’s back, his warmth quickly enveloping Dean like a blanket.

“What’s up?” Dean hums, shivering at the gentle touch of Cas’ lips against the nape of his neck. 

“Missed you,” the former angel whispers against the shell of his ear and it takes a lot out of Dean not to disturb their embrace to turn around and kiss the living shit out of him. 

He grabs one of Cas’ hands and settles for a kiss on his knuckles instead, smiling at the way Cas melts a little more against him.

“You okay?” Dean asks after several minutes of comfortable silence, both of their gazes turned to the lake across the house, enjoying the slow set of the sun reflecting into the clear water.

“Maybe we should buy a house,” Cas says softly, his voice muffled by the cotton of Dean’s shirt from where he's pressed against his shoulder blade.

Dean huffs a laugh. “Have you been conspiring with Sammy? He told me the same thing, not even 20 minutes ago.”

“What, would that be that bad of a thing? Sharing a house with me?”

Dean slowly turns his head and catches Cas’ lips in a tender kiss.

“I think we’re past that point already, sweetheart. I think we’ve passed it a long time ago, actually,” he says against Cas’ lips, sharing shallow kisses as the sun sets in front of them.

“Is that a yes?” Cas asks, almost sheepishly.

Dean steals a kiss from him in response and his boyfriend- no, _fiancé_ \- laughs against his lips, tightening his hold around him.

If Dean didn’t know any better, he’d say that this, this whole night and this whole place, all his loved ones together and cared for, happiness etched into every single one of their bones? This is Heaven. 

But Dean knows better. And this? This is better than any Heaven they could’ve crafted for him up there. 

Because this is life, and there’s an angel of the Lord that’s set to become his husband tightly wrapped around him, there’s a house somewhere that waits on them to make a home out of it, there’s a little girl slowly falling asleep in her bed a few feet away that holds everyone’s heart, there’s his little brother content and happy and cared for with a wife that’s not only a badass but one of Dean’s bestest friends in the world.

There’s peace, and content, and joy, and so much love. 

Dean kisses Cas and it feels just like the first time, like a shooting star tearing up through outer space. Like fire meeting glass. Like blue weaving green.

This is life. And Dean finally gets to live it.

* * *

**Author's Note:**

> **Rebloggable on[Tumblr](https://chaoticdean.tumblr.com/post/643030648787976192/carry-on-the-wayward-son-the-way-that-lovers-do)**


End file.
